(Description by C. Conrad)
In 2016, it is relatively rare but refreshingly authentic to discover a band that has nurtured its craft and spread its disease through more traditional underground means. Formed in shrouded obscurity in Belgium in 2011, Perverted Ceremony harnessed the ritualistic vitriol of influences such as Beherit, Archgoat, and Demoncy to record its own unique six-song promo/demo during the first half of 2012. Rather than relying exclusively on the ubiquitous convenience of the internet to spread its demented gospel, the band first circulated a handful of dubbed copies of this recording to its closest contacts and then sent a limited number of the same self-released cassette to a few respected underground distros. It was in this time-honored way that the band caught the attention of Nuclear War Now!, who was impressed enough to offer to further the metastasis of a sound that the label immediately recognized as one inhabiting the same infernal spheres as early Beherit and Barathrum. As such, this unholy alliance of band and label was spawned and NWN! now proudly presents the very same “Demo 1” as a pro tape with appropriately updated artwork and layout. Recorded in the evil incubator of the band’s original rehearsal space in subterranean Brussels on analog eight-track equipment, the ceremonial squalor of this demo perfectly matches the truly underground spirit in which it has been disseminated, thus serving as an ominous harbinger of the currently in-progress Perverted Ceremony debut album, also to be released under the auspices of Nuclear War Now!

Perverted Ceremony “Sabbat of Behezaël” MC
ANTI-GOTH 344

(Description by C. Conrad)
A mere matter of months since it released its first official recording, “Demo I,” Perverted Ceremony returns with its uniquely abominable variety of black metal, hereby presenting its debut full-length album, “Sabbat of Behezaël,” under the very same banner of Nuclear War Now! First discovered by NWN! through the time-honored underground tradition of the band spreading self-produced cassettes to a limited number of contacts, Perverted Ceremony’s music reflects the same authenticity and dedication to their craft as their original manner of clandestine distribution. Although the band lists such revered acts as Demoncy, Mystifier, Von, Blasphemy, Profanatica, Archgoat, and Beherit, as their primary influences, their sound tends to gravitate somewhat more towards the latter two (along with Barathrum), who represent the Finnish tradition of bestial black metal. That said, Perverted Ceremony’s style is not easily compartmentalized according to their influences. On the contrary, with their distinctive approach to songwriting, production, and atmosphere, they have achieved a ritualistic blend of black metal that is unique unto itself. Additionally, Perverted Ceremony has proven with this album that the work recorded on its demo, which was already impressive in its own right, was only a snapshot in the band’s development, and one which has now been superseded.
The first of several elements that bind both the demo and the album is the band’s preferred reliance on using the very same analog eight-track recorder for both recordings. This deliberate choice has resulted in a very similarly full and organic, but not overly-refined, production value between the two. Another welcomed constant is the hideously buzzing guitar tone, which combines perfectly with the tremolo-picked riffing style, thus forming what has become one of the band’s trademark characteristics on both recordings. When coupled with the bass, often picking the same infernal note sequences a few octaves below it, the effect is a sound that burrows itself into the mind of the listener and is not easily extricated. On top of that mind-infesting buzz, deft flourishes of guitar leads emerge and rise above this hurtling maelstrom before fully dematerializing, proving to be a critical element that most bands of this type lack. The vocals on this album also inhabit and haunt the same accursed, sub-terrestrial registers as its preceding demo, lending it a most godforsaken aura.
Of course, there are differences between the demo and “Sabbat of Behezaël” which afford the latter a degree of superiority. Gone are the sampled intros of satanic sexual ritual that prefaced most songs on the demo. Though quite appropriate for that type of release, such an inclusion would have proven to be a distraction on a full-length album, and instead they are replaced with more minutes of the band’s own depraved ceremony. Also notable is the inclusion of a greater number and variety of riffs and tempo changes. Individual songs alternate within themselves from blisteringly fast tempos to black doom sequences reminiscent of Norway’s Faustcoven. The sum of these qualities, both formerly established and newly awakened, promise to make “Sabbat of Behezaël” one the highlights, if not THE black metal beacon of darkness of 2017.

(Description by J. Campbell)
By now it is well known that during the 1980s, the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte spawned some of the most vicious underground metal the world has ever known. The axes of time, place, and influence converged in just the right way so as to yield an entire scene of young, nihilistic maniacs who formed a handful of bands that sounded and looked like nothing produced before or since. SarcóI_LOVE_PENIS, Sepultura, Mutilator, Insulter, were just a few of the bands that created the unique style for which Belo Horizonte is now recognized. As with many similar nodes of time and place, the explosion of ideas was short-lived, and the aesthetic revolution that began in the mid-1980s evolved, changed, and, some would argue, got totally lost within a few years. By the late 1980s, many of the bands shed the rugged and youthful brilliance of their earlier recordings, resorting, instead, to a style that was more technical and sterile.
Holocausto, one of the bands most closely associated with the Belo Horizonte scene, fell prey to this pattern. Holocausto is best known for their appearance on the original Warfare Noise compilation in 1986, and the 1987 debut full-length, Campo de Extermínio. Steeped in martial imagery and featuring a harsh, combative sound, these recordings were among the most ferocious and hostile produced during that era. Shortly after releasing Campo…, the band underwent a massive lineup change. Guitarist Valério Exterminator and drummer Armando Nuclear Soldier left the band. Bassist Anderson Guerrilheiro remained, as did vocalist Rodrigo Führer—though he assumed the dual role of drums and vocals—and a new guitarist named Renato da Costa joined them. Over the next several years, Rodrigo, with Renato’s assistance, would lead Holocausto into decidedly different territory. Blocked Minds, released in 1988, and Negatives, which came out in 1990, were comparatively unremarkable thrash albums, and by 1993, Holocausto moved into industrial-metal territory with the album Tozago as Deismno, which, other than the band name, bore no resemblance to Holocausto’s earlier work.
After more than a decade of inactivity, Holocausto returned in 2005 with De Volta ao Front, an album that restored the band closer to its roots. It also marked Rodrigo’s reunification with original members Valério Exterminator and Anderson Guerrilheiro. Unfortunately, the band fell silent again, and it wasn’t until 2016 that Holocausto resurfaced with the superb War Metal Massacre LP, featuring the original lineup from the Warfare Noise session. Easily the best album in Holocausto’s catalog since Campo …, War Metal Massacre proved that it is possible for a band to reclaim its youthful potency decades later. Anyone who witnessed the wanton slaughter of Holocausto’s performance at NWN! fest in 2016 saw in action the band’s magnificent return to form.
Uncertainty has always loomed over Holocausto, and it wasn’t clear when, or if, the band would record again, but they have again assembled to produce a new demo. Recorded with the classic Campo … lineup (Armando Nuclear Soldier replaced Nedson Warfare on drums for this new demo recording), Guerra Total displays an even more genuine 1980s Brazilian sound. Recorded live using open air mics, this demo is raw and menacing in the very same way that the band’s earliest recordings were. Operating in militaristic uniformity, Holocausto’s performance is brilliant and brutal. The riffs are sharp, weaponized. This is the sound that Holocausto and their peers should have produced in the 1990s had they not been derailed. Quite simply, this may very well be the most authentic approximation of the mid-1980s Brazilian sound produced since that era

3rd pressing on red vinyl limited to 250 copies. The band will have these for sale during their upcoming tour with Bone Hunter.

(Description by C. Conrad)
Nuclear War Now! expands its ever-growing roster and reach with its release of “Rites of Evil,” the debut full-length from Evil, a four-piece black/speed metal band from Tokyo, Japan. Although the band has existed since 2011 and has previously released two demos and a split CD, its output to this point has been largely overlooked. With “Rites of Evil,” however, its profile is rightfully promised to rise from the obscurity that is due at least in part to its geographic isolation. Including venerable bands such as Bathory, Hellhammer and Slayer in its list of prominent influences that in all span at least three continents and various subsets of first-wave black metal and satanic speed metal, the ones that shine through the most are early Sodom, Sarcofago, and fellow compatriots Sabbat and a certain, notorious Japanese punk metal band. The comparison to Sabbat is notable immediately with the intro riff to “除夜 Nightmare Bells (Joya),” which is similar in its composition and function to the iconic riff in “Welcome to Sabbat” that opens the “Desecration” EP. More generally, Evil’s approach to writing and performing escapes the more modern black metal trend of writing riffs that are oftentimes indiscernible through the wall of noise and/or effects that envelopes them. Instead, the riffs on “Rites of Evil” are clear and memorable, harkening back to Sodom’s early period, when albums like “Obsessed by Cruelty” borrowed and combined aspects of the prototypical strains of black and thrash metal that were first pioneered by the likes of Bathory and Slayer, respectively. Unlike what many contemporary black metal fans would narrowly consider to fall under that subgenre’s umbrella, Evil’s interpretation of the style abounds in impressive guitar leads and solos, which reflect a level of musicianship that is oftentimes lacking in the plethora of bands that briefly surface on and then disappear from today’s black metal landscape. Additionally, Evil’s music is peppered with a healthy dose of ingredients adopted from the recipe of old Brazilian deathcore and its primary progenitor, Sarcofago. An example most reflective of this inspiration is “曼荼羅 Mandala (Mandala),” the Japanese equivalent of a song that could otherwise be easily mistaken as a lost track from Sarcofago’s “I.N.R.I.” recording sessions. Replete with borderline chaotically-executed percussion, rhythmically-barked vocals and the occasional banshee cry so representative of that scene’s output, this song is clearly a reverent nod to the great Minas-Gerais scene of the mid-to-late 1980s. Finally, but not insignificantly, Ryo “Asura” Kitamura’s vocal style is very similar to that of the aforementioned Japanese hardcore legends, and the reliance on his native Japanese language in the lyrics adds a touch of authenticity and prevents the awkward musical caricature that often results when Japanese metal bands opt for English lyrics with a starkly Japanese accent in their delivery. Having toiled in the shadows to prepare this black metal Molotov cocktail, Evil is eager to unleash its fury on the largely unsuspecting masses.

Die Hard Version LP: Splatter vinyl LP, foil stamped jacket, A5 booklet, A2 poster, shaped woven patch, sticker, die cast metal pin. I made a short video since there were so many parts to this release that it was hard to show in static photos. https://youtu.be/e2hTJ9C_hpE

The union of fire and water, bringing forth the sacred war. War chapter of the Black Twilight Circle brings life once more to the forgotten words and stories of the warriors of the past. Indigenous instruments flow like water alongside the fiery force of pagan black metal. Hymns of war, odes to the lords. Hail Huitzilopochtli! Hail Tlaloc!

How far away is the reissue's of the cold war east european metal Lp's?

They're all in motion now so I expect them back in about 4 weeks. So early March I think.

Have you considered doing a vinyl reissue of the 1990 demo from Detonátor (Hungary), given that the band can be tracked down and whatnot? In the same vein as the Exorcist (PL) release._________________Trade/want list:http://nwnprod.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=890122#890122